We’ve Got the Cure for What’s Ailing You 

By Kauthar B. Umar, MA


Closing the Gap, First Summit Packs the House • January/February 2003


“THIS IS NOT A TREATMENT 

FOR CANCER: IT IS A CURE!”

 Sound familiar? Magazine ads 

and late night television infomercials promise quick cures with everything from antiaging ointments, and electronic devices that 

cure AIDS, to immune-boosting teas. Each 

year, consumers spend billions of dollars on 

fraudulent cure-all products. Many are suffering from serious conditions and are desperate for any glimmer of hope. 

According to Richard Cleland, assistant 

director for the Division of Advertising Practices at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), 

such false hope is more than broken promises 

and empty wallets. It’s health fraud. “Health 

fraud is the promotion, advertisement, or sale 

of a product, treatment, or service to provide 

a beneficial effect on health-based claims 

which are false or which are not supported 

by a reasonable basis,” stated Cleland. 

Advertisers must have a reasonable basis 

to support objective claims. Unqualified 

health claims require competent and reliable 

scientific evidence, which is based upon tests, 

analyses, research, studies, and other evidence, 

and on the expertise of professionals in the 

relevant area. 

What does this all mean? In a nutshell, 

products can’t state disease prevention and 

or/treatment claims without the Food and 

Drug Administration (FDA) and FTC approval. The FTC’s primary interests are not 

necessarily in stopping the sale of these products, but preventing the sale of products 

backed with inadequate scientific evidence. 

So, why are so many consumers still lured by 

the eight-hour weight loss drink, and the 

immediate hair removal pill? 

“Many companies targeting U.S. consumers are outside of the U.S. Thus, the companies are difficult to locate,” said Cleland. 

“It’s not legal to put a drug claim on a dietary 

supplement label. Companies will attempt 

to get around that by putting the unsubstantiated drug claim in advertisement. 

TV and the Internet make it very easy 

for individuals and companies to become national marketers.” 

In an attempt to combat Internet health 

fraud, the FTC, in collaboration with other 

law enforcement authorities, developed “Operation Cure All” in 1997. In its first phase, 

two Internet searches identified over 1,600 

sites worldwide making questionable claims 

for the treatment and cure of numerous incurable diseases. 

In response to these results, a campaign 

was launched to raise consumers’ awareness 

through online and related educational efforts. Warning marketers of their legal obligations via e-mail advisories, and bringing 

targeted enforcement actions that are closely 

coordinated with FDA and other authorities 

are the campaign’s goals. 

Cleland said that the FTC can force distributors to put safety warnings on a product and to take any unsubstantiated claims 

off product labels. However, FTC doesn’t 

have the power to pull products off the market. 

“Federal agencies are overwhelmed with 

company health claims. The FTC’s focus is 

primarily on stopping products with unsubstantiated and false treatment claims for major illnesses,” argued Cleland. Ninety percent 

of the companies that the FTC challenges 

accept without fighting back, but more companies are beginning to fight back, he said. 

Companies are less likely to give up their advertising claim if the product is generating 

substantial revenue. 

By putting products on the market, 

many consumers assume each product is FTC 

approved. Such an assumption misleads consumers and fuels fraudulent companies. 

“There is no FTC label,” said Cleland. “Before purchasing, do research on the ingredients in the product. Be skeptical of any product offering itself as a miracle cure, whether 

it’s for cancer or obesity.” 

For more information on Health Fraud 

visit the Federal Trade Commission web site 

at, http://www.ftc.gov/ 

For more information on Consumer 

Education and Protection visit, http:// 

www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/ 

infosecurity/index.html 

To file a complaint, or to get free information, call 1-877-FTC-HELP or 1-877-382­

4357.

We’ve Got The Cure for What’s Ailing You is


based on the Summit workshop


Healthcare Fraud: What is Out There and


How Do I Protect Myself?,


Thursday, July 11, 2002.


Operation Cure All 

This Web site offers the following: 

; Consumer protection information includes consumer alerts on HIV home-testing kits; impotence treatment claims; dietary supplements for children, and more; 

; Business information offers guidance on how to market health products and services truthfully; 

; Press releases keep the public informed of the latest news on health care fraud; 

; Resources provide links to other online organizations; and 

; Spanish-language information is also offered. 

For more information, go to http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/cureall/index.html

Office of Minority Health Resource Center U.S. Department of Health and Human Services